Witker pitches, hits Woodmore past G'burg

No. 3-seed Wildcats knock off No. 1-seed Golden Bears

May 14, 2008

Written by

MATTHEW HORN

Sports Writer

BELLEVUE -- Winning pitcher Corey Witker did not allow a hit through five innings and tripled to drive in Chris Noe with the go-ahead run in the eighth as Woodmore earned a Division III sectional title with a 4-2 victory over Gibsonburg on Tuesday.

"That felt great," said Witker after the No. 3-seeded Wildcats defeated the No. 1-seeded Golden Bears (14-7 overall). "That put us ahead and to be in that situation with a second chance to put it away after I blew the first -- it was nice to get another chance."

Noe singled with one out.

"He stepped up and hit a nice line drive," Witker said. "He hustled around the bases to score. I was yelling, 'Go, go.' I saw the right fielder didn't move and the ball was slicing but I could tell it was going to be fair."

The Wildcats (12-9 overall) will play Wednesday's winner between Huron and Edison in the Plymouth District Tournament on May 22.

The Golden Bears' Matt Hiser walked to lead off the bottom of the sixth and Matt Kreglow sacrifice him to second. Zack Black followed with a single for the first hit of the game off Witker to drive in Hiser.

Josh Carrothers then added a double to bring Black home and tie the game at 2-2.

Fisher incurred a concussion, several contusions on his leg and a sprained ankle in a nasty collision in the outfield in an SLL game Friday and was on crutches Saturday. He struck out six and walked two in eight innings Tuesday.

"It didn't affect how I threw," Fisher said.

"I thought I had decent velocity. I wasn't controlling my curve. I think it would have been a big plus if I threw my curve for strikes. They were looking fastball.

"We put the bat on the ball, we just didn't find holes."

Witker and Fisher play summer baseball together for Fremont Legion. Witker earned the victory and Fisher the loss as Woodmore beat Gibsonburg 6-4 in the regular season in the Suburban Lakes League.

"He's a consistent pitcher," Witker said. "I know what he's got. We throw about the same speed. We both have the same stuff."

Witker struck out five and walked two in eight innings. He went to a 3-2 count on the first three batters he faced.

"My fastball was all that was working at the beginning of the game," Witker said. "I was feeling uncomfortable on the mound. It took me a while to get comfortable.

"In the second half of the game my changeup finally kicked in."

Witker committed Woodmore's only error of the game in the first inning.

"We played perfect defense," Witker said. "I made one mistake but we got a double play to get out of it. That's what you have to do."

Wildcats second baseman Luke Davis took a toss from shortstop Robert Schumacher and made a nice turn to complete the double play in the first. Davis also knocked down a hard grounder and threw out Cody Hill with a runner on second and two outs in the fifth, and third baseman Glenn Smith made a nice stop and long throw to end the sixth with a runner on second.

Witker singled, and scored second and third in the fourth. He scored when the throw to third sailed into the outfield.

"I've always been like that. I've always been aggressive," Witker said. "If I'm on second I plan to steal third."

Witker scored from second on a fielder's choice to second to beat Port Clinton in a sectional opener.

Andy Gerwin doubled in the sixth and scored on an opposite-field RBI single from Corey Hicks for a 2-0 advantage. Hicks was 2-for-3 with a walk.

"He likes to get on any way he can," Witker said. "He's fast and when he gets on we plan to score him. He knows how to get on base."

Michael Fahle reached on a fielder's choice and capped the scoring as Jack Rospert drove him in with a single in the eighth.